HTKGAF 2018: Using salads to tell tales of butterflies and fish

In a salad story, healthy foods are used to tell an informative and engaging story, to make meal time both educational, nutritious and a time of bonding

A ‘sun’ made from corn and carrot, fruiting trees made with cucumber and cherry tomatoes, flowers of orange and fish made from beetroot were all gobbled up in less than minute at the salad stories workshop held at the Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

Children take part in the workshop at Kala Ghoda on Wednesday. (Hemanshi Kamani /HT)

As Zarine Jalil Menon, author of Make Me Happy Salads, narrated stories about the life cycle of a butterfly and life in a lake, some of the children didn’t even realise they were eating the same vegetables they claimed to abhor.

“I was exposed to healthy food as a child, and I wanted to introduce it to my son too,” said Menon. “At the same time, I discovered that there weren’t too many entertainment options available for children except cartoons, which are synthetic, and that’s how I came up with the concept of salad stories.”

In a salad story, healthy foods are used to tell an informative and engaging story, to make meal time both educational, nutritious and a time of bonding.

“My daughter eats almost everything, but has preferences when it comes to vegetables. Today she ate beetroot, and didn’t even seem to realise it,” said Bhakti Shroff, whose three-year-old, Mishri, was still snacking happily on the aquatic shapes on her plate, made from healthy vegetables.

For some families the workshop was equally about spending quality time together. Sanchi Dhande was accompanied by both parents.

“We like growing with her, which is why we attend events together,” said mom Shraddha, a surgeon from Sion.

One kid missing all the fun was children’s events curator Nuriya Rao’s three-year-old son. “He would have enjoyed the workshop and I would have liked to bring him,” she said, laughing, “but then I wouldn’t get any work done.”